Richard Redito – BSCS II – Art Appreciation

Worksheet 2

Direction:

a. Research on at least six art pieces discovered during the Stone Age or the Egyptian civilization that
depict their beliefs and practices. Attach a photo of your chosen art pieces and identify their key
elements and features. Share your insights as to how these pieces help people from the modern
context understand the historical past.

Title: La Ferrassie Cave Cupules (c.60,000 BCE)

Description:

The oldest known site of Franco-Cantabrian cave art, La Ferrassie is a large Neanderthal cave
complex, situated near Les Eyzies, in the Perigord region of the Dordogne in south-west France. It is
famous for its series of cupules - a primitive form of rock art - dating back to Mousterian culture
(c.60,000 BCE), which makes it the oldest prehistoric art in Europe. As well as its Neanderthal cupules,
the cave also contains a number of rock engravings dating to the Aurignacian.

In contrast with the 'modern' cave art of the Upper Paleolithic - such as the abstract red dots in
the El Castillo Cave (39,000 BCE) and the magnificent cave painting at Altamira - cupules are a much
more ancient form of anthropic art. They are the oldest art ever made (the Bhimbetka Petroglyphs),
they exist on every populated continent, and were created during all three eras of the Stone Age -
Paleolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic - as well as in historical times. Unfortunately, experts are mystified
by their meaning and cultural significance. As a result, they are not taken as seriously - as a form of art -
as Ice Age murals or sculpture.
Title: Lion Man of Hohlenstein Stadel (38,000 BCE)

Description:

One of the treasures of Prehistoric art from the period of Aurignacian art, the Lion Man of
Hohlenstein Stadel is an ivory carving of a lion-headed figure, and is recognized as the oldest known
anthropomorphic animal carving in the world. It was discovered in a cave in Hohlenstein Mountain,
located in the Swabian Jura of southwest Germany. Following carbon dating tests on earth in which this
item of prehistoric sculpture was found, it has been dated to approximately 38,000 BCE, making it the
earliest art of its type (male figure) in Europe. A number of other unique works of Stone Age art have
been found in the locality, since excavations first began in the 1860s, including: (1) the Venus of Hohle
Fels (38,000-33,000 BCE), the oldest of the Venus Figurines and the oldest known figurative sculpture;
(2) the earliest ivory carving of a mammoth.

The area is therefore an important centre of Paleolithic art and culture, and is likely to disclose
further examples of Rock art in due course. After the discovery of the Lion Man, a similar, but smaller,
lion-headed carving was unearthed in a nearby cave, together with other zoomorphic figures as well as
several bone flutes. This has led archeologists to speculate that the lion-figure had a totemic role for the
inhabitants of the early Upper Paleolithic. The original carving is now kept in the Ulmer Museum, Ulm,
pending the establishment of a new museum of ancient art.
Title: Ubirr Rock Art (from 30,000 BCE)

Description:

Ubirr Rock is a world-famous site of Aboriginal rock art, on the edge of the Nadab floodplain in
the traditional lands of the Gagudju people. Ubirr (also known as "Obiri Rock") is the best-known site of
Aboriginal prehistoric art in Kakadu National Park, Arnhem Land, in Australia's Northern Territory,
although there are other rock-face galleries in the region, such as those at Nourlangie. Some of Ubirr's
Stone Age art is believed to date to the era of Paleolithic art, perhaps as far back as 30,000 BCE or even
earlier. However, as in the case of the Burrup Peninsula rock art, this is merely a general estimate, as no
painting at Ubirr has actually been carbon-dated to such an early period.

The stylistic chronology of Ubirr's rock art is the same as for all works within the Arnhem Land
region. Works are classified into three main periods, based on the changing characteristics of the
environment. These are: Pre-estuarine, Estuarine and Freshwater, of which the oldest art consists of
prints of hands and other objects, created during the Pre-estuarine period, anywhere between 40,000
and 10,000 BCE.
Title: Venus of Hohle Fels (38,000 - 33,000 BCE)

Description:

A unique item of prehistoric sculpture created during the Aurignacian culture of the Upper
Paleolithic, the small ivory carving of a female figure known as The Venus of Hohle Fels (also called the
Venus of Schelklingen) was unearthed during excavations in 2008 at Hohle Fels Cave in the Swabian Jura
of southwestern Germany.

The Venus of Hohle Fels is 2.4 inches in height and was carved from the tusk of a woolly
mammoth tusk. It has been pieced together from six fragments found in a cluster, about 10 feet below
ground, although the left arm and shoulder are still missing. It has a short and squat body whose waist is
slightly narrower than its broad shoulders and wide hips. The figurine has no head; in its place, a carved
ring protrudes between the shoulders, indicating that the sculpture was probably worn as a pendant or
amulet. The figure is endowed with prominent breasts, while its two short arms with their carefully
shaped hands and fingers rest on the upper part of the abdomen. A number of deeply etched horizontal
creases (indicating clothes?) traverse the torso from the just below the breasts to the pubic triangle. The
buttocks and genitals are portrayed in exaggerated detail, while the legs are small and pointed.
Title: Venus of Moravany (24,000-22,000 BCE)

Description:

The Venus of Moravany was discovered in Slovakia during the early part of the 20th century. It
was reportedly unearthed about 1938 by Stefan Hulman–Petrech, a farmer in Podkovica near the village
of Moravany nad Vahom, in the Piestany district of the Trnava region of western Slovakia. It was then
sent for examination to the world-famous scientist Abbe Breuil, in Paris. In due course the Venus was
judged to be a Paleolithic statue, although it wasn't until 1967 that it was returned to Slovakia.

The figurine is just over 7 centimetres in height and is carved out of mammoth tusk ivory. It is
carbon dated to about 24,000-22,000 BCE, which places it in the Willendorf-Kostenkian or Upper
Gravettian period of Stone Age art. Of course, this tiny carving may not look like a sophisticated item of
ancient plastic art, but all anthropologists agree that the carving of a human figure represents an
important stage in the evolution of ancient art and therefore a significant step forward in the cultural
development of mankind.
Title: The Venus of Tan-Tan (200-500,000 BCE)

Description:

The early Stone Age figurine of Tan-Tan, discovered by the River Draa near the Moroccan town
of Tan-Tan, is considered to be one of the oldest items of prehistoric sculpture known to archeology. Its
discovery, some 18 years after that of another figurine of similar antiquity and morphology on the Golan
Heights (the Venus of Berekhat Ram) is supportive of the idea that both objects are genuine works of art
from the pre-Homo sapiens era, particularly in view of microscopic research by Alexander Marshack
confirming that the Golan venus was incised by human hand, rather than nature.

Made from moderately metamorphosed quartzite, the Venus of Tan-Tan is roughly 6

centimetres in length, roughly 2.6 centimetres in width, and 1.2 centimetres thick. It weighs about 10
grams. On its surface there are some 20 minute specks of a brilliant waxy red material, identified as iron
and manganese, although whether it is a form of manually applied ochre paint is not clear. Like the
Venus of Berekhat Ram, its humanoid shape is suggested by specific grooves incised in the figurine.
Some of these definitional markings are attributable to nature; others are the result of it being struck by
tool or stone.
b. Enrich your understanding of the different European art movement/styles that emerged. Look for
at least two artworks that depict/express three of the European art movement/style discussed in Art
App 2.1. Provide the title and a short explanation of chosen artworks.

Title: The Birth of Venus by Sandro Botticelli

Description:

This is an example of art from the renaissance period. It was created in 1485; the painting shows
Goddess Venus arriving on the island of Cyprus. She is depicted as a pure and mature woman standing
on a seashell. Botticelli had given much attention to every detail of Venus.
Title: A Burial at Ornans (Un enterrement a Ornans) (1849) by Gustave Courbet

Description:

This is an example of an artwork based on realism. Now seen as one of the greatest genre
paintings - depicts the funeral of Courbet's great-uncle which took place in September 1848, in the
family's birthplace of Ornans, a small town near Besancon in north-eastern France. Rather than use
professional models, which was normal practice, Courbet chose to paint the same townspeople who had
been present at the burial, thus emphasizing the 'truthful' character of Realism.